Hi ,

Before my oldest started walking, I was all about delayed education. I remember telling my friend that I'd wait until my kids were older before teaching them to read. I thought I had all the time in the world. Then, right about the time my oldest turned 1, he was suddenly obsessed with letters. I thought this was a fleeting window that I needed to take advantage of, like he wouldn't be interested later. So, we started letters, and within 2 years, he had all his letters, their names, and their sounds down pat.

Remember when I said I thought I had lots of time? Well, this meant I was wildly unprepared. I had no idea how to teach a child how to read, let alone a toddler. Now I know I skipped several steps that would have made learning to read much easier for my son, and also started him on actual reading later, when he'd likely be more ready for it. I made so many mistakes in teaching my son how to read; the poor kid had to teach me how to teach him how to read.

I got lucky. Really lucky. Both my kids are avid readers now, despite all the mistakes I made. However, you don't have to rely on luck. There are people out there who know how to teach a child to read and they are making awesome curricula and books to help you teach yours! My friend, Sarah Miller, is one of them. You can check out my review of her curriculum here. (I used a neighbor boy as my guinea pig because my kids were already reading when I found her curriculum!) I also have someone writing a guest post on teaching your child to read; I'll let you know when it's available.

Wherever you are in your homeschooling journey, I hope you know that you don't have to rely on luck. There are so many resources to help you out! Do you have anything you feel like you're relying on luck for? I'd love to hear about it! Hit reply and let me know, and maybe I know of something a little more reliable than luck to help you out. Until next time,

Happy Gaming!

~Ashley

Gypsy Gameschooler

Gameschooling on a Budget